Disney sent us to China to photograph destinations on their Adventures by Disney China Itinerary.

Our best move was hiring fixer Huang Yong to help us on our tour of Beijing, Shanghai, Guilin and Hong Kong.

We heard of Yong through our friend Bob Croslin who almost spent the night in a Chinese jail for overstepping his tourist visa while doing an investigative piece on the Yangtze River. Yong talked Bob’s way out of that mess. As if we needed any more reason to hire him, his reputation was confirmed in a Photo District News article:

“Chinese journalist Huang Yong spent two years in the US as a teenager, where he mastered English and picked up on American culture before returning to Beijing. From 1994 to 2004, he worked as a staff researcher and reporter for Time magazine. Now a freelancer, he has earned a reputation among US photojournalists as one of the best fixers in China.” - PDN

We also acquired tourist visas, since we didn’t need to photograph anything sensitive and working as a couple helped us play the part of tourists. The plan worked well except for in one instance; We were questioned by serious looking military personal with machine guns while photographing in Tiananmen Square. Unfortunately, our shooting schedule landed us in Beijing on the anniversary of the massacre. It was really nice having Yong there to smooth things over in Mandarin.

Hiring Huang was also a good idea while working in China because foreigners are not allowed to drive cars there. He also introduced us to a lot of Chinese cuisine we would have never encountered on our own. One particular dumpling restaurant in Shanghai pretty much ruined us. We are sure we will never find any that good again. 

Check out the Adventures by Disney China tour here.

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